With the government’s agreement on the reform of Master’s degree programmes in June 2023, it became necessary for the Faculty of Arts to rethink its entire educational landscape. The reform meant a greater reduction in admissions to Bachelor’s degree programmes, fewer master students in the long run, and the establishment of a number of short Master’s degree programmes and work-integrated Master’s degree programmes.

- The Master’s reform was one in a series of many cuts to the degree programmes at Arts, and the overall educational landscape is no longer sustainable. However, implementing the Master’s reform has been a huge undertaking. Therefore, the faculty leadership team and I are very grateful for the many contributions and inputs from staff, students and partners. It has been crucial for ensuring a strong and sustainable faculty, says Dean Maja Horst.

Implementation at school level

The first phrases of the consultation process dealt with the overall principles and numbers for the total intake. Throughout the process, the work has increasingly focused on the degree programmes. Therefore, the vast majority of inputs in this latest phase concern the very specific development tasks at the schools, and this means that the work in the upcoming processes will largely need to be handled at school level and within the study administration units.

- The faculty leadership team is pleased that we have been able to maintain a broad research-driven portfolio of degree programmes. Now the work begins to define the new degree programmes together with the academic environments through terms of reference and the development of academic regulations and degree programme changes. We acknowledge that the academic environments and the study administration are facing a very large task, and that the pace of implementation is a challenge. It needs to move both quickly and slowly at the same time, but we are working to create coherence in the process, says Marie Vejrup, head of school.

45, 75 and 120 ECTS and work-integrated Master’s degree programmes

The faculty expects to continue to offer a wide range of degree programmes within the opportunities and requirements set out by the Master’s reform. There will be a requirement for a certain proportion of short Master’s degree programmes. It will also be possible to create a 45-ECTS supplementary programme in direct continuation of a short 75-ECTS Master’s degree programme. In addition, there will be trials to establish Master’s degree programmes under work-integrated conditions, i.e. without SU and with a requirement of 25 hours of employment in an organisation or company.

- In our work on the Master’s reform, we have prioritised offering degree programmes that are recognisable to the outside world. The educational landscape must cover the broadest possible range by maintaining 120-ECTS Master’s degree programmes across a wide variety of the faculty’s disciplines. We will also continue to work towards effectively delivering graduates who can teach in upper secondary school and ensuring that there is a workable nationwide model for handling the dual-subject graduate issue, concludes Niels Lehmann, vice-dean for education.

The faculty leadership team has decided to focus on the restructuring of Master’s degree programmes to be carried out by 2028, based on the political decision to evaluate the Master’s reform in 2028. Therefore, it is hard to predict what requirements will arise for the restructuring of degree programmes in 2030 and 2032.

Read more about the plan here - select "Overview of decisions".